


project stitch; (recommendation & scissors)

by aquaticflames



Series: sunset firefly [10]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), only a little but it's me what do you expect :]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:02:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29413083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaticflames/pseuds/aquaticflames
Summary: "I can’t decide which colours I want to use, and I can't just pick my favourites because then I’d have to buy the whole store,obviously.” Wind mumbled stubbornly, crossing his arms with a huff.“Okay,” Warriors said, patient. “-So, keep a design in mind while you choose. Anything in particular you want to work on?” The sailor, on the spot, avoided his eyes. Warriors, instantly attentive, felt a sly smile growing across his face. “C’mon Wind, ‘fess up! It’s something for one of the others isn’t it?”---when Wind sets his mind to something, he's going to get it done - even if he needs a push and some help to get the ball rolling.
Relationships: Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe), Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: sunset firefly [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115921
Comments: 33
Kudos: 184





	1. colours; (recommendation)

**Author's Note:**

> me? writing more fluff?? if you'd told me half a decade ago I'd be comfortable writing fluff at all, I'd have said you had the wrong person.  
> and that's on character development. :]
> 
> enjoy some Wind & Warriors content !! this one is two prompts in one, 'recommendation' and 'scissors', because _both_ prompts fought me tooth and nail, so i just squished them together to solve the problem. ♡

After Warriors stepped through another swirling portal and finished righting himself - subtly trying to shake off the horrid feeling of being dizzy and dazed - his heart _leapt_ in his chest.

Despite never having ventured through this particular Castletown back alley, he was _sure_ he was home at last. The captain couldn’t describe it; Something about the air just felt _right,_ and the noise from the adjacent main street sounded so _familiar_. 

“Ahah!” He’d shouted - properly gleeful for the first time in weeks, decorum be damned. “Welcome home everyone!”

The other eight heroes had just about managed to find purchase again, a couple nauseous, nervous grins and slightly… absent expressions aimed his way. Concern gripped him for a moment. Some of the younger travellers still seemed to struggle with each switch, despite long-having grown used to the sensation.

He walked to the mouth of the alleyway, taking off his scarf as he went and carefully folding it up. When he turned back, Legend was eyeing him curiously through a scowl of discomfort. 

Warriors indicated in the direction of the audible bustle with a flick of the head. “We need to try not to stand out, if we’re going to make it up to the castle,” He said firmly, pleased to see Time giving his assent with a nod. “-Twi, you’re gonna have to lose the fur for now. And hide your weapons, everyone. Let’s go.”

o~O~o

Warriors was in no way surprised when several of the group expressed raring enthusiasm for exploring the Castletown markets the following morning. It was a rare thing seeing Wild so eager to throw himself into the social hubbub, but it’d been hard to miss the way the boy’s eyes had gleamed when passing the bakeries and farmers’ markets on their way to the castle the previous afternoon.

He’d whirled off down the streets with Twilight, carefully sticking to the walls and side alleys to weave their way around the throng of early-morning shoppers. The others had all split off shortly after, perusing through everything that Warriors’ thriving hometown had to offer.

If he was particularly grateful for one thing, it was that most of _his_ major battles had occurred away from home - both physically and temporally. The others seemed to be appreciating it too, if a little melancholy about what _could_ have been.

Wind had followed him into the local seamstress’, trailing at his heels with distinct curiosity. He’d _‘ooh’d_ and _‘aah’d_ at the myriad of technicolor fabrics, yarns, threads, pattern pieces and flosses - immediately shuffling over to the fabrics and admiring them with poorly-concealed envy. 

“Thinking of getting a new tunic made?” Warriors chuckled, glancing over his shoulder as he walked to the front desk with a smooth _‘Morning, Ivee, lovely to see you as always’_.

“Never,” The sailor called back, tugging his shirt nervously. “Just looking.”

Warriors brought his attention back round with a smile, scanning the shelves behind the friendly shop attendant. “Can I get a couple new embroidery needles? Seventy-five and eighty, my dear.”

“No problem. Do you have a pincushion or…?” She leaned back towards the needle stores, her hand hovering over the store’s scrap pile in question. When he reached for his bag, she nodded and moved towards her wares. 

He unclasped his needle-sleeve wrap and slid it across the counter, leaning one elbow against the tabletop so he could briefly snatch a glance of Wind tiptoeing over to the embroidery floss display. 

“Nice to see a customer come prepared,” The clerk chuckled, weaving his new needles safely into place. “-You paying yet?”

“In a moment,” The captain assured, giving her one last nod before righting his posture and trotting over to Wind. Their sailor was anxiously nibbling on his thumbnail and he looked to be _agonising_ over the spools - staring long and hard at each colour before turning his scrutiny onto the next. 

Warriors couldn’t work out what was tearing at the boy so much. Had he missed a complaint about the condition of his pack? Had one of his garments torn, and gone unnoticed by the group?

“What’s got you looking so down, sailor?” He probed gently, laying a careful hand on the boy’s shoulder. Wind still jumped like a deer caught in the lamplight, whipping his head around to blink at him owlishly. 

“I-I just thought I’d make a stab at embroidery, actually.” He mumbled with a flush, twisting the hem of his shirt between his fists.

Warriors felt genuinely surprised, blinking back at the boy for a moment before schooling his face back into an encouraging smile. “Why so embarrassed though? Did the Vet make a big song and dance out of it?”

Wind hurried to correct him, frantic to not be misunderstood. “No! _No_ , it’s just...” He sank back into his nervous examination of the colours on sale, eyes lingering over fiery reds, forest greens and pale, periwinkle blues. “There’s _way_ too much choice. I can’t decide which colours I want to use.”

“Well that’s easy to solve,” Warriors chuckled, reaching into the display to tug out a hank of coral pink embroidery floss. “-Just pick your favourite colours to start with.”

“But then I’d have to buy the whole store, _obviously_.” Wind mumbled stubbornly, crossing his arms with a huff. “-And really, I should only buy what I can reasonably carry.”

“Okay,” Warriors continued patiently, grabbing a lock of classic-blue thread and adding it to his handful. “-So, keep a design in mind while you choose. Anything in particular you want to work on?” The sailor shifted a little on the spot, avoiding his eyes. Warriors, instantly attentive, felt a sly smile growing across his face. “C’mon Wind, ‘fess up! It’s something for one of the others isn’t it?”

“Well, yes...” He gave in, grinning sheepishly. “But I can’t work out whether pastels or brighter colours would work better.”

He thought for a moment, expressing the first question that came to mind. “Depends on the fabric really. Dark or light?”

“It’s dark,” Wind admitted, a finger at his chin in contemplation. “But he’s already got embroidery on the back and- ah _fuck._ No! _Stop smiling!_ I _hate_ you.”

The captain couldn’t help it; He cooed and teased, tugging on the boy’s ear affectionately. He probably deserved the rather hard smack Wind aimed at him. “So it’s for his cloak, right? I have _no_ idea how you plan to scrounge it away long enough to get the sewing complete.”

“ _Nevermind_ that, just help me pick the colours. Pastel or bright - what do you recommend?”

Warriors was genuinely, _honestly_ touched. He didn’t often allow himself the confidence of believing he was truly _good_ at something - naturally, without years of training under his belt. But he’d always prided himself on having a keen artistic eye and a knack for aesthetics. The Vet gave him hell for it near _constantly_ \- something he was willing to put up with as long as he poked back just as hard - and his Zelda used to tease him for it too, cracking the odd joke here and there at his expense on long days and nights in far flung areas of time and space.

He remembered the way his spirits had soared when the Princess professionally sent out a request, asking after his opinion on the initial designs for the new royal guard’s uniform. That had been a few years before he met the chain, and realising the extent of her genuine appreciation for his keen visual eye had nurtured his drive to hone it.

It’d been virtually that same day that Warriors had marched himself down to Ivee’s textile emporium - stereotypes be damned, _public opinion_ be damned - and purchased almost the entire shop. Spools of sewing thread, hundreds of floss hanks, and a myriad of colourful and textured fabric had been dumped atop his bed. He’d made his way over to Zelda’s room, and begged her to teach him to sew.

He would never forget the way her expression morphed from pleasant surprise, to genuine delight.

“I’m so happy you’re taking up a hobby for _you_ , Link.” She’d said, rising to her feet and forgetting to push back her desk chair in her excitement to make it to the door. “You’ll know I learned from my teachers of course, but I’ll do my best in a mentoring capacity. What do you want to start with?”

And that’s how he’d ended up sat cross-legged on his bed, the Princess in his desk chair pulled up beside it, with all his attention laser-focused on stitching a new crest onto the end of his royal blue scarf. 

One symbol for each realm they’d visited in the War Across Ages. 

He never could be sure if the other heroes had noticed the small insignia, painstakingly sewn just above the Hyrule crest at the base of his scarf - but he had suspicions that Time recognised the little Kokiri sword, and had never said anything. _That_ was a conversation he was going to let the old man initiate on his own terms.

Warriors glanced back down at his handful of embroidery flosses, suddenly aware that he had a wistful little smile painted across his cheeks. Shaking his head slightly, he cast his mind over to the heroes of the chain, trying to picture their cook’s cloak in his mind’s eye.

“Go with pastels,” He said firmly, glad to see his confidence mirrored as relief when he caught the sailor’s gaze. “It’ll go nicely with the white stitching he’s got.”

Wind, grateful for his input, began plucking out different hanks of floss - selecting a rosy coral, sky blue, pistachio green and pale-daffodil yellow. Warriors wasn’t sure what the kid was planning to embroider for the Champion, but he would be the first to wager that it was something highly meaningful, based on the _time_ alone he was spending choosing the thread.

He helped Ivee pick out some needles for the boy, and bought him a needle pouch when he wasn’t looking. He’d have to slip it into the sailor’s pack later, but he didn’t really mind the berating he’d get for it - not when Wind looked _so_ pleased about finally plucking up the courage to dive headfirst into a new skill.

“But seriously though,” Warriors said around a mouthful of sweet pastry, as they walked back up to the castle on their way past his favourite bakery. Wind’s cheeks were stuffed full of a savoury, tomato-based bake, tearing through it at an alarming rate. “-How _do_ you plan to get the kid’s cloak away from him? Sure, he takes it off sometimes, but never for more than a few hours at a time.”

“Wouldn’t _you_ like to know?” Wind jeered back, a sly grin slipping into place. “You can help me with the embroidery itself, but the game-plan is between me and Twilight.”

“Ah-ha! So I can just ask the rancher, then?”

“Goddess fucking _damnit!”_


	2. discrete; (scissors)

As much as he enjoyed teasing the chain’s youngest, Warriors was perfectly content to watch this one play out before him. He’d agreed to teach Wind how to embroider, and he was happy to help him keep it a secret from their most observant travelling companion, but how Wind went about stealing the cloak was _his_ business. 

Warriors wasn’t about to stick his foot in _that_ barrel of worms.

He honestly wasn’t sure how they were going to pull it off. Wild was easily the most perceptive of their nine, and would notice _both_ if his favourite cloak went missing, and if it reappeared with a half-finished stitch project sewn into it. Wind was going to have to get ahold of it, _and_ finish his work in one go.

It was going to be _so_ chaotic, and Warriors couldn’t wait.

Their plan seemed to come to a head one evening sometime after another switch, out on the grassy plains of Four’s era. It was obvious to everyone that Wild hadn’t been sleeping right recently, with multiple watch members reporting him awake throughout the night, many days in a row. At most he seemed to be napping while the sun was still up, catching an hour of sleep here and there before preparing their meals. 

Warriors _still_ wasn’t sure who was in on the whole thing aside from himself, Wind and Twilight. It was possible Time was too, but then again, the glares he had aimed at Wild every time they’d all settled down to sleep over the last week… well that could just be _Time_ and his special brand of old-man mother-henning. 

Either way, when the group had settled down just shy of a marsh amongst some shaded trees, Twilight and Wind seemed to activate Project Stitch almost seamlessly. He definitely would have missed it had he not been on the lookout for their scheming.

Their cook looked dead on his feet, already cobbling together some twigs and leaves to get a fire going with his cookpot on the grass. After three attempts, each ending in his flint glancing off and landing pathetically in the dirt, he seemed to accept that he simply wasn’t functioning properly.

“I’m gonna have a nap,” He muttered, handing the flint to a concerned Sky. Wild got to his feet and shuffled over to his bedroll, already laid out alongside everyone else’s. He didn’t even wait to confirm anyone had heard him - flopping down, rolling over and letting his breathing slowly even out. 

“ _Damn,_ that was fast.” Legend muttered, brows furrowed as he helped Four get the cookpot situated over their little fire. Warriors only had eyes for Twilight though, who was untying the soft, thick wolf’s pelt from around his shoulders. 

“Wind,” The ranch hand muttered, shooting their sailor a meaningful glance. “He won’t even notice, grab it now.”

With more care than Warriors had ever seen the brusque teen put into his steps, Wind tiptoed over and crouched down beside their cook, nibbling nervously on his lip as he reached down and undid the clasp at Wild’s throat. For one horrifying moment in which the boy snuffled loudly and rolled away from Wind, Warriors was _sure_ they’d managed to wake him up. 

But Wild just fell right back into his deep, even breaths, beginning to drool slightly on his pillow. Warriors snorted, drawing an eye-roll from Twi. 

So they’d obtained the cloak? Sure, it was a good plan that went off with little to no hitch. But Wind _definitely_ had about three hours tops before Wild was wide awake and demanding to know which idiot stole his clothes again. 

That was when Twi began to even out his wolf pelt, and Sky started crushing up Chamomile leaves.

_Ahah, okay. They’re playing dirty, I see._

“So when did the sailor wrangle everyone into this?” Warriors whispered conspiratorially, aiming a devilish grin at Legend. He received a rather obscene hand gesture in return, and shifted his attention to Sky.

“Maybe a couple days after arriving in your era?” The Skyloftian suggested, seeking confirmation from Hyrule. Their Traveller nodded, getting some water on the boil. 

“Few days before that, for me.” Twi said, tucking the fur gently around his protégé’s shoulders. Time leaned over and handed the ranch-hand his own spare blanket, watching him spread it out overtop the boy’s own. “-Though he won’t tell any of us what it’s gonna look like. Been planning it for weeks.”

“And you’ll all see it when it’s _done_ , I don’t want to risk ruining the surprise.” Wind snapped, already reaching for his pack and shooting Warriors a hopeful look.

_Guess that’s my cue, then._

“You want to start now?” He checked, sidling over to where the sailor was rummaging around beside the fire. Wind found the needle sleeve Warriors had slipped him and gaped at it for a few seconds, glaring up at him with a grumble before refocusing on his materials. There were clearly more important matters at hand, which suited the Captain _just_ fine.

They got to work right away. Warriors had already shown him how to thread on, split the floss for a satin stitch, and chainstitch for simple outlining, but it was an honest delight watching the kid put those meagre lessons into practice on the real deal. Warriors felt comfortable reclining beside him, pointing out a sloppier stitch here and there, or reminding him to keep the fabric taught and well-shaped. 

It was impressive though, how much progress Wind was making in such a short period of time. Two hours into it, they’d only stopped for a break once and the sailor had already gotten halfway through one insignia - it's neat and tidy outlining complete. For someone who’d claimed abhorrence with a cross-stitch, it was incredible.

Warriors did actually manage to work out what the design was, perhaps two-thirds of the way into the first insignia, as he watched the boy stitch the rosy-coral floss into the outline of a lizard. There was no mistaking that stylised symbol - they’d seen the beast for themselves on their last visit to Wild’s era, where Wind had sat speaking to the Goron village elder for _hours_. 

Wind’s efforts were clearly underpinned by a great deal of thought and research. Warriors had no doubt that the champion would love it to bits.

He could only pray that the sailor managed to get them all polished off in time, though; It was all well and good keeping Wild asleep for an afternoon like this, but Wind couldn’t exactly stitch in the dark overnight, and their cook would quickly cotton-on to the plan come sunrise.

One hour into their hilarious evening later, the cook had roused with a groggy yawn and a mutter about _‘salvaging dinner from the heathens’_ , before Sky plied the boy back to a doze with soothing words and a cup of _very strong_ chamomile sleeper’s tea. 

Legend and Twi looked like they were summoning the strength of the goddess herself, in their attempts not to lose their cool and burst out laughing; Time - on dinner duty in Wild’s absence - had glanced down at his pot of bland potato soup and narrowed his eye at the boy’s slate, clearly yearning to pilfer some ingredients from him.

For the most part though, the evening went by undisturbed. Four had to keep nudging Wind through dinner to remind him to finish his food, but the sailor was resolute - getting through another two outlines and starting on the fourth just as the sun properly set and gave way to twilight. Sky had to pry the cloak out of his grasp, setting it aside carefully and aiming a kind, but stern look his way. 

“If all goes to plan tomorrow, you’ll have plenty of time to finish.” He reminded the boy, ruffling his hair and setting off to his own bedroll with a thumbs up. Wind looked dejected and nervous, gaze locked onto the sleeping Wild every few minutes before falling asleep, but he went down without complaint beside Warriors.

o~O~o

The captain really should have learned to stop doubting the group’s plans. When he awoke the next morning, Four and Legend were running a clothes’ wash, tunics and trousers being wrung out into the grass not far off.

“He won’t suspect a thing,” Four whispered, leaning around him to look back towards camp. “Watch now-”

Sure enough, Wild was finally coming to. He yawned obscenely and stretched, scrubbing at his face before taking in the state of camp. Warriors watched his gaze scan past the three of them by the washing, then over the other heroes - each having surrendered a random garment for laundry, their clothes being hung out to dry - before noticing his missing cloak with a shrug and getting to his feet.

Warriors let out a quiet, impressed whistle, turning back to Four with raised eyebrows.

“Nah, the rancher’s next idea is downright _devious_.” Legend’s gaze subtly followed those back at camp too. “The kid’s gonna kill him when he works it out.”

Sure enough, as Wild rose to his feet back by his bedroll, the blankets and fur pelt that had swaddled him overnight slid to the grass in a heap. The champion grew confused for a moment, bending to pick them up and stepping around the fire towards Time and Twilight. 

“Did you guys give me these last night?” He asked, head cocked slightly as he held them out. “You didn’t have to.”

“Not a problem,” Time said simply, accepting his blanket back and beginning to fold it away. Twilight, though, just waved a hand distractedly, putting a little _too_ much focus on his porridge oats in an attempt to appear nonchalant.

“Keep a hold of it for me, I slept right near the fire last night so I overheated a little.”

For only a second, it seemed like Wild would decline the offer. The champion’s eyebrows furrowed as his eyes narrowed, drawing the fur pelt back towards himself uncertainly. But as quickly as his demeanour changed, the boy slipped into a rather pleased looking flush, offering them a shy little nod and carefully drawing the fur around his shoulders.

Warriors would have shot Twi a disbelieving look of his own, had Time not beat him to it. The ranch-hand just shifted his weight minutely, a wobbly smirk shaped around his next spoonful of porridge. 

Twi clearly knew _exactly_ how much trouble he’d be in later for the emotional manipulation, the bastard.

None of them could believe how well it worked. Wild had instantly grown fond of his mentor’s pelt, flattening out the fur periodically and burying the lower half of his face into it each night at camp for the next week. 

Wind was stealing the occasional quiet moment to work on his embroidery; At the back of a cave with their cook busy on dinner, in his shared room with Warriors at a Skyloftian inn - and finally by a babbling brook, leant up against the shaded base of a tree with his kit strewn out beside him. The others were all sparring back by camp, and they had slipped away under the pretence of getting washed in the stream.

“Wars, did you bring your scissors out here?” Wind asked, sliding his needle back and forth in a surface satin stitch, steady fingers manoeuvring the fabric as needed.

“Sure did,” Warriors leant to the side to snag up his pack not far away, returning to the sailor’s side and beginning to rummage through it. “Are you almost done?”

The distracted hum he got in reply told him everything he needed to know about where the boy’s attention lay. With a light chuckle, he found his sewing scissors and drew them out for Wind, setting them down on the grass between them.

“Just need to tie off now.” Wind sounded nervous as he flipped the garment to observe the underside of his handiwork. Thank _goodness_ it was a high-quality, lined cloak, Warriors thought briefly. The reverse of Wind’s handiwork lay between the layers, with the odd knot of floss showing where the sailor had switched colours. Neat and tidy, and _damn_ well-made. 

It sure as hell wasn’t a reflection on his own teaching, that was certain.

The boy tugged his final stitch all the way through and pulled the floss taught, reaching for Warriors’ scissors and cutting the needle free. He began tying the loose, periwinkle floss into a neat little knot, staying careful not to pull too hard on the satin stitch and risk warping the fabric.

At last, it seemed he was finished. The kid took a little too long to flip the cloak back over, the pause revealing a little of how _nervous_ he was - how much he cared, and wanted it to be just right.

But how gorgeous it was, Warriors thought, rendered speechless as he shifted forward to get a better look. Wind leaned into him slightly at the movement, a pleased laugh leaving him suddenly. It was _finished._

The satin stitch was thin and even, blocking in the colour for each precisely-mapped outline of the four Divine Beasts. The colours for each had been a _perfect_ pick. Rosy-coral pinks for the fiery Goron lizard, and sky blues that reflected the waters surrounding the Zora’s elephant. The pistachio-green reminded Warriors of the grassy outcrops leading up to Rito village and their great sentinel bird, and the pale-daffodil of the Gerudo Camel practically shone like the sands of Wild’s deserts.

“Couldn’t have done a better job myself, this is masterful.” The captain breathed, running a hand over the silky-smooth satin of the little elephant. The four beasts seemed to walk along the base of the cloak, sat proud beneath the traditional embroidery of Wild’s era. “Are you going to give it to him now?”

“I could keep it for another month and he wouldn’t even bat an eye - not with the way he’s been hogging Twi’s pelt like he has,” Wind snickered, smoothing out the fabric. “-But... yeah, I want to show him. Let’s go.”

They packed up and made their way back through the woods, Wild’s cloak draped over Wind’s arm as they walked. They broke out through the treeline and onto camp not long after setting out, clearly back just in time for lunch. 

Twilight and Legend were busy wrapping up a sparring match off to one side, spectated by a few of the others lounging around and handing out pointers. Time and Sky had taken to reorganising their packs, folded clothes and sealed-up rations lay about on their patch of grass. They exchanged the odd anecdote as they worked, weapons off to one side.

And Wild was by the fire, as he always was, preparing their food like the goddess-damned angel that he was. Warriors’ stomach grumbled to a _comically_ loud degree, and Wild turned with laughter spilling from his lips.

“Okay okay, it’ll be ready soon. Thought we could try- _oh!”_ The cook’s train of thought ground to a halt with the exact realisation of what Wind was carrying, slung across his arms. A smile split his face, and Wild hurried to stir whatever it was he had boiling over the fire so he could focus back on Wind without distraction. 

“You found my cloak!” He breathed, gratitude rolling off him in waves as they shuffled over. Warriors could almost _hear_ the sailor sweating his nerves from right beside him. “I was worried I’d lost it back in Four’s era, and I didn’t want to complain. Where did it turn up?”

“You didn’t lose it at all,” Wind admitted, letting out a wobbly chuckle. “I took it, because I was wanted to surprise you with something.”

“Wind?” Wild looked puzzled, confusion clear as day as his gaze raced between his friend’s face and his missing cloak.

“It’s easier to just show you,” The sailor conceded, toeing his way over and letting the cloak unfurl as he held it out to take.

Wild had the whole camp’s eyes on him as he reached up to take his cloak back, the sparring and spectating grinding to a halt as each hero realised what was taking place by the fire, one by one.

The moment the garment left his clutches, Wind rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and started fidgeting with the hem of his tunic, watching Wild like a hawk. The champion turned the cloak around in his hands, and finally laid eyes upon Wind’s handiwork.

Something tore through Wild’s expression, something raw and grief-stricken. It looked _wrong_ on someone so young - but then Warriors remembered that really, Wild wasn’t young by a long, _long_ stretch. He was _easily_ the oldest amongst their nine, as much as everyone liked to teasingly delegate that honour to Time - and they could see all one-hundred-seventeen years on him in that moment.

He let the cloak pool in his lap, one hand coming up to cover his mouth and catch the tears suddenly slipping down his cheeks unbidden. He _drank_ in the stitching, running a shaking hand over the four symbols that represented the people he missed most of all - who had left a gaping, _aching_ hole in his chest. The Divine Beasts were all he had left of his closest companions, and now he could carry their insignia with him everywhere he went - long after their gifts had departed, leaving four slots in his slate cold and empty.

“I-I hope you like it, I hope the colours match the-”

 _Oof_. Wind sank down like a ragdoll when Wild launched himself at the boy, drawing him down into a bone-crushing, teary-eyed hug. He hung off the sailor’s neck, face buried into his neck with the cloak still balled up in one hand at his back. 

“ _Thank you._ ” Wild breathed, looking up and rubbing his eyes harshly with a wet chuckle aimed at Warriors. “Thank you _all.”_

“Wha- No, no,” Warriors hurried to assure him. “-It was all Wind.”

Even _Wind_ sounded snivelly when he spoke up from under Wild’s embrace. “Cut the crap-” He sounded positively _exasperated_. “You all helped.”

“Wind, this is _incredible._ ” Wild praised once he’d settled back, wedged in between the sailor and the captain on a fallen log. “The emblems- they’re perfect. And the colours too, they match the… the slate’s entries.” He looked up, gobsmacked. “How’d you do it?”

“I had a _long_ chat with Bludo, we’re practically brothers now!” Wind explained, pride slipping into his tone as he puffed his chest out. “He showed me the relic symbols, and let me take a sketch for reference.”

“The old boulder’s gone soft, for someone so hard-headed.” Wild laughed. “I’ll make sure to thank him next time we can.”

Legend took that as his cue to stomp over from the sparring rounds happening on the edge of camp and collapse down onto their log, pointing a threatening finger Wild’s way. 

“Like _hell_ we’re going back up that apocalypse mountain,” He snarled, scowling deeply into the pot of stew. “I burned that day in places I never even knew I _had_. If you wanna go visit a senior citizen who’s literally a _rock_ , by all means - but there’s no ‘we’ in that, you lunatic.”

They fell into mirth, settling down again until Wild sat up straight, hands flying to his own shoulders. 

“ _Oh!_ Twi, I still have your furs. Here-” He stammered out, tripping over himself in his haste to clamber past the others with a ladle tucked under his arm. “-Sorry, I completely forgot to give it back.”

Twilight smirked, testing the weight of his sword straight out of a match with Hyrule. “‘S fine, you seemed to enjoy having it in the absence of your cloak, anyway.” 

For one, horrifying moment, Warriors watched Wild’s gears turning with baited breath. He witnessed the boy come grinding to a halt, eyes narrowing dangerously before he _gasped_ , drawing the furs back into his chest with a scandalised expression.

“You _tricked_ me!” He concluded, hand over heart. “-So I wouldn’t notice my cloak was missing!” 

“Hey hey, you can have it whenever you want, cub!” Twilight deflected, hands raised in surrender with his sword dangling useless in his slack grip. “It was just convenient.”

“Oh like _hell_ I’m letting you get away with that!” Wild barked, flinging the pelt away from himself and brandishing his ladle like a broadsword. The pelt landed right on overtop Time, much to everyone’s cackling delight, as Wild readied his ladle and beared down on his mentor. Wind looked like he was going to wet himself laughing.

“Get back here!” Wild screeched, just as the ranch-hand abandoned his sword with a clatter and took off into the trees, tail between his legs. “Get _back!”_

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading as always !! your comments are all so wonderful, without fail. ♡♡
> 
> me: I'm writing fluff today. this one's a fluff prompt.  
> my brain: okay but we could make it unnecessarily emotional, right at the very end. cause that's always fun.  
> me: _fuck, you're so right._
> 
> you're all beyond wonderful. until next time. ♡  
> \- eren.


End file.
